


HOTEL OF SHADOW Waiting Game

by SkipBack



Series: Hotel of Shadow [10]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Hotel of Shadow (Hazbin Hotel AU), and i will stick by that statement forevever, lucifer is a fecking jackarse, okay arcadia's back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:41:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22291270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkipBack/pseuds/SkipBack
Summary: Charlie thought that the worse was over before, and she thinks so again. With Alastor steadily recovering from his mind's torment and slowly returning to his old self, things finally seem to be looking up in these dark times! But the Princess of Hell is shocked to discover how wrong she is. When the Radio Demon abruptly starts to get worse again, everything goes downhill within the span of one day.Along the way, Lucifer reveals his mysterious plans for the red stag to an angel known as Arcadia. Arcadia is left feeling helpless, knowing he can't do anything to stop a punishment far worse than being erased.This part takes place afterBlood of a Royal,a part of the Hotel of Shadow AU.
Series: Hotel of Shadow [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484603
Comments: 48
Kudos: 90





	1. A TURN OF EVENTS

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to _Waiting Game_ , the part that takes the cake with chocolate icing to another level. 
> 
> Prepare yourselves.

Charlie had thought Alastor was getting better. 

Things seemed to be fine: his strength was slowly but surely returning to him, and he was slowly gaining back the weight he'd lost locked up in the Radio Tower. In fact, he hadn't even lapsed in three months since returning to the hotel. 

So it seemed completely out of nowhere when his eyes rolled up into his skull and he abruptly collapsed, his staff rolling from his fingers. 

"FUCK!" 

Angel Dust was the first to react. The language he'd used was a little problematic, though Charlie supposed she would have said the same thing... if she could, at the moment. 

This wasn't a lapse; this was different... this was new. 

The arachnid shot to the floor, trying to shake the red stag awake. Charlie was numb as she picked up the staff, cautiously asking it if it could hear her. " _Well,_ I _certainly can,_ " it replied, its single eye flashing as it spoke. "Him _on the other hand... not so much. Not you, not me, not the spider... he can't hear anything._ " It seemed as though it was going to continue speaking, but it made a garbled noise and shut down, a dark substance like oil or ink spilling from between Alastor's teeth. 

Charlie didn't know what to do. She would have asked Alastor, but seeing as he was conked out at the moment, she had only one other person to ask for advice. 

She took a deep breath and called at the top of her lungs: 

"VAGGIE!!" 

... 

Arcadia furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean by 'secret', sire?" the silver-haired angel asked. 

"What I mean is that it's something I cannot reveal," Lucifer said. "At least, not now. However..." The Dark Lord's smile widened. "...things are going downhill for Alastor remarkably fast as we speak." 

"Oh?" Arcadia raised an eyebrow. "How so?" 

"Holes." 

"Pardon me, Your Unholiness?" 

"Holes, Arcadia. Soon there will be nothing but holes." 

... 

There was a painful light. 

Alastor hissed, turning his head away from the light and trying to swat at the imbecile who decided to flash it in his eye. He missed several times. 

"Oh!" a voice said. "You're awake! You look terr—uh... I mean good! Looking good! Nothing to worry about." Alastor sat up, rubbing his eye while examining the room around him. 

It looked like he was back in the medical wing, from the looks of things. 

A wide-eyed, blond imp in glasses was staring up at him. "Is anything I'm saying getting through to you... at all? Just tell me, just say yes." 

_"I don't think I understand. What do 'holes' have anything to do with this, sire?"_

_"They have a lot to do with this, my dear Arcadia. It's a part of the punishment."_

"Yes," Alastor said. 

"Oh, good!" the imp doctor said, his face lighting up. "I was worried you had brain damage. Not to worry about, of course! From the fall you took, I'm sure it would have been a minor case of serious brain damage! Or not, uh, m-maybe just a concussion... um, this isn't really helping, is it? No..." 

_"Well... but then why holes, sire? What part do they play, what role do they have in this secretive punishment of yours?"_

_"They play a huge role in this."_

"Alright... let's do a few tests to check if everything is a-okay! Your name?" 

"Do you know? Just in case you know I'm just making one up off the top of my head?" 

"Right, yes, she did tell me! Ahh... oh! Yes. I do know. Go on. Tell me." 

"I am Alastor." 

_"May you tell me what role they play, sire?"_

_"I might."_

"Yes! Knew i—" the imp cut himself off. "I mean, good! Very good, nicely done! That is, uh, in fact, your name. Yes. A-ha. Now—" 

"I don't mean to interrupt your... 'rambling'," Alastor said, swinging his legs off the bed, "but who do you mean by 'she'?" 

"Oh! Right, yes, sorry... the one in charge of this place." He flourished an arm dramatically. "This is an interesting thing she's got here! This goes to show, there are heroes down in Hell. Yeah? Brave. Though almost three bloody years, not a single soul has been redeemed yet! Uh, not that I mean that's a bad thing or anything, but... oh, you know what I mean." 

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't tell me anything. Who?" 

_"And that is...?"_

"Uh—d-do, um... do you know anyone called Charlie?" the imp asked. "Six feet tall, blond, red cheeks? Ringin' any bells in there? Anything... anything at all...?" 

"I..." he paused, furrowing his brow. "No, I can't say I do. Who is Charlie?" 

_"Have you ever heard of a lovely thing called 'memory loss', Arcadia?"_


	2. HOLES IN MY MEMORY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Had to come back and edit this because Archive was being a fuck-shit and put, from after the discussion with the imp doctor to the very end, in Italics. It's like with Guns Blazing when it was fuckin' around and put the entire first chapter in bold.
> 
> I did not love that.

"Holes in his memory," Arcadia said, connecting the dots. 

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Lucifer said. 

"...I don't understand. You're erasing his memory?" Arcadia tilted his head. "Is this the punishment, sire? Erasing his memories, making him forget who he is?" 

"Almost close to the truth," he said, fitting his arms behind his back. "Almost." 

... 

The imp doctor's skin paled so that he was almost entirely white. "Well... I-I, uh... give me one second, will you?" He immediately rushed out of the room, calling out for this "Charlie" person. 

_What a strange fellow._

Yes, Alastor couldn't remember her. But from the imp's reaction, she was supposed to be important to him. Correct? 

He put a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. He felt as though there were things he was missing, more than the memory of just Charlie, whoever she may be... parts of his memory like lost pieces to a puzzle, but he didn't know which ones had gone and where they had disappeared to. 

What else had he forgotten? 

His ears perked up. 

He just sensed someone using his name. 

He lifted his head, moving his ears about until... oh, yes, there were two entities down in the lobby of this fine establishment having a conversation about him; from the muffled voices in his head as though he was hearing them through water and static, he could only gather it was the imp doctor from before, and another, unfamilar voice... hmm... 

Alastor twitched his ears, and the conversation suddenly became crystal clear, words bouncing against the walls of his skull with perfect clarity: 

" _—member you! He can't... I mean, he knows his name, yes, but not you... uh, I don't mean to alarm you, but, and don't quote me on this, I think that he has some form of amnesia._ " 

" _Oh._ " This other voice sounded so sad, and Alastor felt his smile falter. 

Was this Charlie? 

" _But, um, maybe it's just temporary amnesia!_ " The imp was clearly trying to raise her spirits. " _His memory can come back, right? Yeah, it will, trust me, it will. Maybe. No, wait, yes. It will DEFINITELY come back._ " His confidence was admirable. 

" _What if it doesn't come back?_ " 

" _Um..._ " A bit of his confidence slipped. " _Well, ha, uh... T-try to look on the brighter side of things, yeah? There_ is _a chance that this is temporary, and that this is hopefully the only thing he's forgotten. That will, uh, surely come back, so... nothing to worry about!"_

__" _Hm._ " She didn't sound convinced. " _Did you ch—_ " _ _

__"Al?"_ _

__Alastor flinched at the sudden voice, and the rest of the conversation was lost to him. He quickly composed himself, noting that his smile had almost completely fallen off his face._ _

__"I—yes?" Something in his mind stirred, but next to nothing came to him... though the furry white demon before him seemed familiar._ _

__"You doin' alright?" he asked, crossing over to him._ _

___"To be honest, not really," Alastor replied as the other demon sat down beside him. "I believe that some of my memories are gone, but I can't be too certain."__ _

____"Do ya know me?" the other demon asked.__ _ _

____Alastor turned to look at him. Yes, he was familiar. But nothing really seemed to—__ _ _

____He shuddered and wrinkled his nose, suddenly recalling five words he felt better not remembering.__ _ _

____"You didn't have a good memory pop in there, didja?" Angel smiled. "Yeah, I know that face."__ _ _

___..._ _ _

___It was Charlie's idea, really._ _ _

___Writing a book for himself in case he were to suddenly lose the rest of his memories... he liked the idea, and he discovered a lot about himself... as did she, in the beginning._ _ _

___They wrote about Husk, they wrote about Niffty and Angel, Baxter and Mimzy... everyone Alastor knew (and remembered) were all jotted down. The last person they got to was Charlie herself. The description for her looked like this when they were done:_ _ _

____Then there's Charlie, Princess of Hell. Never call her "Charlotte"; she doesn't like it. She's rather bouncy and tends to be optimistic, but she does have a potty mouth at times. You once ripped her arm off, but she has since forgiven you so don't worry about it._ _ _ _

__That last sentence was Charlie. He'd leaned over her shoulder before she was done, his heart dropping. "I did that to you?" he'd asked._ _

__She'd quickly wrote in the other half, and he'd sighed._ _

__He found himself putting events and memories he felt were important to him from time to time. He didn't put every little thing in the book; he didn't want to crowd it too soon._ _

__Alastor eventually began to hide the book, as he didn't want anything bad to happen to it. After all, losing a book full of his memories and secrets would be a bad thing if he were to forget everything. What would be worse if someone else were to get their hands on it and read it._ _

__That would be a disaster waiting to happen._ _

__..._ _

__"There's more to this?" Arcadia asked._ _

__"Of course!" The Dark Lord chuckled. "I already gave you another clue to what the punishment may be. With a brain like yours, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already!"_ _

__"Holes in his memory..." The angel furrowed his brow, but the other clue came to him as quick as lightning. "Didn't you say he's been knocked down a rank?"_ _

__"Very good, Arcadia. Well done."_ _


	3. OUR TIME IS FADING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OH FUCK

_Alastor's memories were fading... all of his memories._

_Charlie found it terrifying. It seemed as though he was forgetting everything that made him Alastor, and he was beginning to have problems remembering Husk and Niffty... demons who seemed to be his closest friends, even if Husk would never call him a friend (out loud, anyway)._

_Meanwhile, Alastor himself was beginning to feel confused. He was aware he was losing his memories, and he was coming to terms with it... but it was alarming how quickly he was losing them. Once they were gone, he might not miss them... possibly forgetting the feeling of losing these memories._

_Some memories were slower to disappear._

_Especially the memories he had of being locked up in the Radio Tower for five whole months, the ones he wanted to be gone the most; the horrible things his hallucinations had been saying to him (not everything; it felt as though he was forgetting some things, as usual), the feeling of his own claws raking his skin, and every moment he'd spent wallowing in his pain._

_It was.... shameful to himself, now that he thought of it. But he knew that in time, he would have no memories left. None of his previous life, none of his afterlife._

_The thought of what he would be like without his memories haunted him as the day dragged on, but it would be pointless anyhow... it wasn't like he was going to remember that thought._

... 

Arcadia began pacing. 

"Holes in his memory, knocked down a rank..." He froze to look at Lucifer, dread crossing his features. "Oh goodness, are you erasing him... without erasing his presence?" 

"Something like that." The Dark Lord and the wingless angel began circling each other, clockwise. 

"Sire, this is worse than truly erasing him," Arcadia said, his voice wavering. "What if he figures it out before it's too late? What if everyone around him figures it out, and finds a way to stop it all? Reverse the process... reverse what you've done to him?" 

"Trust me... it's Hell. Barely anyone gives a shit about each other... and there's no one in this cesspool who gives a shit about Alastor." 

... 

With the realization that he was going to forget everything, it worried him that he was going to forget where he left his book... and it didn't seem too incredibly safe for it at the hotel anymore. 

Where could he put it? Where it wasn't terribly obvious to everyone else and only to him? There was one area, he thought. But he hadn't been there long in three months... not since returning to the Happy Hotel, anyway. 

After informing the blond one where he was off to (he'd forgotten her name again, goodness gracious), he vanished in a cloud of red and black smoke, feeling as though his body was warping and his bones were being shoved to different parts of his body. 

Alastor reappeared with popping sounds that usually only he could hear, the book clutched tightly to his chest. He wasn't sure why he thought it was logical he take the book to the Radio Tower; it was possible he would forget it was even here. Maybe it was because, with his missing memories in all, he was too confused to think it through. 

He headed over to the desk, spying a large, wrecked antique radio on it. That... that was another memory that was still fresh in his mind, and it rushed to the front of his mind. 

_After shifting into the beast, Alastor spied the Master Radio upon the desk. It looked so smug sitting there, smiling at his pain and taking pleasure in it. Alastor growled, suddenly loathing that radio._

_Alastor tore the radio to pieces with his bare talons, venting his frustration and rage. It wasn't enough, so he clawed at the walls and floor, roaring at the top of his lungs. Two days later, the jars along the walls were broken, the beast devouring their contents. He swallowed some glass; it was painful, cutting the walls of his throat, and he cried out in pain._

_For weeks, Alastor continued to destroy things... and when he ran out of things to destroy, he turned his claws on himself, roaring as his talons raked his ski—_

Shuddering, Alastor pushed that memory down. He carefully set the book down beside the wreck on the desk. He considered the broken Master Radio, then snapped his fingers... feeing a significant amount of his energy draining as the radio fixed itself, the sides slowly melting together and seemingly becoming brand new. 

He didn't think he could get back to the hotel, but he did... though it cost the rest of his energy. He crashed on top one of the sofas in the lobby when he got back, sprawling out and passing out immediately. 

... 

"But what if someone does care, sire? Who would this hurt if he were to suddenly forget everything?" 

Lucifer chuckled. "He hasn't forgotten everything... at least, not yet. It's a slow process. Losing parts of his memory, piece by piece, until... poof! It's all gone. Nothing left, not even the name he's chosen for himself." 

The light in Arcadia's pale blue eyes left. "He may have committed a crime against the balance... but completely erasing his mind, stripping away of all he was... you may as well have just erased him, sire!" 

"Erasing is too quick and easy. Besides, boredom is a cruel creature... and I wanted to experiment with a new form of punishment." 

"What else is this punishment doing to him?" 

"Why do you care? Just four minutes ago, you were all 'Oooh he committed a crime against the balance, we must erase him, yacketty yacketty blah!'" 

"This is different! Erasing is not the same as... _this_! I must know... what else is this punishment doing to him?" 

"Occasional bursts of pain in the chest and head. Each time one occurs, it seems to be getting stronger... but in truth, he's just getting weaker." 

"Either erase him, or don't, but not this." 

Lucifer snorted. "You changed your tune quick. You weren't aware of the exact details, and now you're blowing your top? Hell is my domain, Arcadia. And how I punish the sinners here... is of my choosing." 

"YOUR MAJESTY!" A little red imp in a white tux burst in through a hell-portal. "YOUR MAJESTY, I HAVE TERRIBLE NEWS! URGENT, TERRIBLY IMPORTANT, YOU-MUST-HEAR-RIGHT-AWAY NEWS!" 

"What is it?" Lucifer snapped at him. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" He very pointedly gestured to Arcadia, who loudly squawked. 

"I am truly sorry, Your Majesty, but it's about your daughter's hotel," the imp said hurriedly. 

Lucifer growled. "What about the hotel this time?" 

The imp twisted his tie in his hands. "I'm sorry to tell you this, I truly am, but..." 

He sighed, a look of uncertainty on his face. 

"The Happy Hotel is on fire, Your Majesty. And it's not just any fire... it's heavenfire."


	4. THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN

When he woke up, he was greeted by a rather interesting scene. 

A blond demoness in a suit rushed in, her white-on-red eyes wide with panic. 

"IT'S ALL ON FIRE!" she screamed. "IT'S FUCKING HEAVENFIRE! _HEAVENFIRE!_ WHERE IS SHE?! GET OUT! IT'S BURNING! I CAN'T FIND HER!!" 

"What...?" he started, slowly getting to his feet. 

"I DON'T KNOW! One second everything was fine, but then angels came from the sky and now MY FUCKING HOTEL IS BURNING TO THE FUCKING GROUND!" As she spoke, she was growing taller, horns stretching from her head and leathery wings stretching out from her back. "VAGGIE!! WHERE'S VAGGIE?! WHERE IS MY GIRLFRIEND?! I HAVE TO—" 

"Behind you!" A white-haired demoness stepped out from behind her. She took one of the blond's hands, squeezing it. "Please calm down, hun; you're going to cause a black out." 

"There's still so many demons here and WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE 'EM HERE!" The blond's tail lashed, and she frantically ran on the spot. "I'M FREAKING THE FUCK OUT, OH SHIT, OH FUCK!" 

He'd woken up to this... hectic scene, and he wasn't sure what was happening. Hell, he couldn't remember his own name! But something told him he had to do something. 

"Leave it to me," he said. "You two get out. I'll see what I can do." 

"Al—" the blond demoness started. 

"Listen, I barely know who you are," he interrupted. She flinched as he gripped her shoulders, looking her dead in the eye. "But I'm sure that, whoever you are, people need you, and it would not be such a happily ever after if this was your demise. So. Both of you, get out. I'll do what I must." 

The blond nodded, stepping back out of his grasp. "Be careful, Al," she said. "This is... one helluva shitshow." She grabbed the white-hair under the arms, and she soared out through the open doors to the hotel. 

Al rubbed his hands together. 

This was a shitshow indeed. 

... 

It took a minute for the imp's words to sink in. 

"WHAT?!" Lucifer roared, then whirled on Arcadia. "IS THIS A TRICK? IS THIS A FUCKING DISTRACTION?! HOW DARE YOU?!" 

Arcadia's feathers "floofed", and he shrunk away from the angry king. "Of course not, sire!" he said, his voice wavering. "I wasn't aware of this until now! We would never sink this low!" 

"Maybe it's these fucking Wings of Order again," Lucifer rumbled. 

"That would be quite impossible, Your Unholiness," Arcadia said. "My br— uh, _we_ have been very careful to make sure each and every last one was erased!" 

Lucifer snorted. "Well, it's possible that you fucking missed some." He sighed. "Alright. Meeting adjourned. I'm going to kick some rogue angels in the face." 

"R-right... farewell, sire," Arcadia said, giving him a half-assed formal bow. 

Not that Lucifer was paying any attention; he had already slipped through the hell-portal with the little imp close at his heels. 

The portal closed behind them, leaving the angel in Purgatory by himself. 

... 

Golden flames surrounded the building... surrounded him. 

Al had been holding out his arms for quite some time, his power draining his energy. He was using it to keep the building up; there were still a couple more souls left, and he wasn't letting this place go down until they left. 

This... heavenfire wasn't something he was used to; the heat was surprisingly unbearable, and along with the added stress of holding the whole hotel up, he was drenched in his own sweat. 

One soul left... c'mon, he cou— 

"HNNGH!" 

He fell to his knees as he felt the last of his energy leave him. 

_He was too weak to be able to keep the building standing._

Al practically shrieked as the ceiling overhead came crashing down on top of him.


	5. SONG OF THE END

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm confused, what is this chapter

_Fading in and out of darkness._

Gold fire everywhere. 

Everything hurt... oh, the agony... 

His flesh... burning... 

He heard the flurry of wings. 

Someone lifted him out of the rubble. 

He was cradled, and he laid limply in her arms. 

A worried face stared down at him. 

_Fading in and out of darkness._

Gold fire everywhere. 

She spread her wings. 

Burning... flesh... 

She took off, bursting through multiple ceilings. 

He could hear his heartbeat. 

_Fading in and out of darkness._

She rose through the roof. 

His vision blurred, but he could see the smoke rising. 

She was talking to him... what was she saying...? 

She set him down on the soft ground. 

Everything... burned... 

He was barely aware of his own screams of agony. 

He thrashed, but his limbs were held down. 

Something jabbed itself into his neck. 

The pain faded away as he fell into blissful darkness. 

... 

_END OF PART TEN_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We had Bloody Party, we had Guns Blazing... and now here we are, at the end of Waiting Game. 
> 
> We're just zooming through these, aren't we? I can't believe we're going onto Part Eleven next! Holy fuck, it seems like just yesterday I was starting to work on Bloody Party! Ho-lee shit! 
> 
> A special thanks to the lot of you! From my Unofficial Analyzing Team, to the fam down at the Hazbin Trashcan and Writers of Hell Discord servers... whether you come from Earth or Gallifrey, every single one of you have stolen my hearts! 
> 
> I've never made so many Doctor Who references in my life, my guy. 
> 
> Anyway! That's it for now! 
> 
> Ciao! 
> 
> This series is not over! Hotel of Shadow will continue in _An Unclear Whisper_!


End file.
